An Honest Guide Of The Best Sports Card Products Releasing In March 2024

March blooms with sports card releases across all the major sports and we’re excited to count down some of the top pics. 

Here are the CardLines picks for cards in March 2024. And, also as always, a feature on this list doesn’t mean it’s a must-buy. We’re sharing honest thoughts on all products. Some of these brands might be included out of caution, so read the short summary with each. 

Also, please note: The release schedules are very fluid and move frequently. These dates are not guaranteed. And, of course, none of the NFL releases will have Stroud/Young autographs and none of the NBA releases will have Wemby autographs. 

Noteworthy Sports Card Releases for March

2022-23 Panini Flawless Basketball (03/06)

Choosing a briefcase over a box as the delivery vessel, Flawless sets the bar for high-end products. The boxes typically don’t retail for less than $10,000, so even though we don’t have an exact figure yet, we can estimate low five figures. 

Each box of Flawless has 9 autograph and 1 memorabilia card, and every card is numbered to 20 or less. Plus, of course, the briefcase. If you’re looking to take a huge swing, Flawless might be for you (but I could never recommend opening one of these!).

2023 Panini Spectra Football (03/8)

Spectra Football is an unusual product. It has the same color and parallel flair as the most popular optichrome products like Prizm, Optic, Mosaic, and Select, but it’s never had the wide-reaching appeal.

Why? The best guess is that the sixteen-card boxes don’t seem to have the same following as the more widespread releases with more cards to collect and more (affordable) ways to do so. 

Spectra 2023 will be more of the same. As far as pricing goes, this year’s release is pre-ordering for $1,199.95 and each box includes 4 autographs, 4 memorabilia cards, 7 base/parallels/variations, and 1 insert per box on average. There’s also a slew of new inserts, so keep your eyes peeled.

Shop for 2023 Panini Spectra Football boxes on eBay

2023/24 Panini Donruss Elite Basketball (03/13)

Elite has been around for over a decade, so it has some history at this point. That does not, however, make it an appealing product. While it might be Donruss “Elite,” the vast majority of collectors would still prefer standard Donruss and its Rated Rookies.

Elite has a $325 price tag for 6 packs per box with 8 cards per pack, and you can expect to pull 2 autos, 2 base rookies, 6 parallels, and 10 inserts. 

Limiting the number of rookies per box seems like a good idea because of scarcity, but Elite did the same thing last year and most of the rookies didn’t retain much value (probably because they’re in their college uniforms).

Rookie auto sets to chase include Pen Pals, New Breed Autographs, Impact Impressions and Rookie Yearbook Autographs!

Shop for 2023-24 Panini Donruss Elite Basketball boxes on eBay

2023 Panini Illusions Football (03/13)

Illusions is a good-looking product that hopefully, will get discontinued soon. Harsh? Probably. But I’d call it a decent, mid-tier product that still falls below the rest of the mid-tier products, and only waters down the overall card market value by offering cards that nobody really wants. 

Each $450 box comes with 3 autographs, 2 memorabilia, 5 numbered Trophy Collection parallels, and 10 acetate or micro-etched cards. Again, this is a decent product, but I can’t call it anything more than that.

Shop for 2023 Panini Illusions Football boxes

2023 Topps Inception Baseball  (03/15)

Topps Inception is a great-looking, low-cost hobby box.  Each box is pre-ordering for $165, and with that, you can expect to find one 7-card pack. There will be 2 autograph or autograph relic card, 1 foil parallel, and 4 base cards. 

This year’s set offers the chance to collect a 100-card set that denotes the players who are making their Inception debut with an “Inception Inaugurations” stamp. While this is a late release, it will be a fun rip.

Shop for 2023 Topps Inception Baseball boxes on eBay

2023 Panini Zenith Football (03/15)

Zenith still feels like a cash-grab from Panini. It’s a brand that was popular in the 90s, and Panini brought it back so we could all have another football brand vying for our attention – every collector’s dream! Here’s a serious task: ask any football collector to name 10 brands of football cards, and let us know if any say “Zenith.” I’d be surprised.

These boxes cost $400 and they’re 1 pack of 6 cards. Each box comes with 1 RPA, 1 additional auto, 1 base, 1 rookie, and 2 inserts.

There’s a 242 base set (pretty high for a 6-pack box) that features 100 vets, 100 rookies and 42 RPAs. While this brand seems unnecessary, there’s no denying that the cards look great. 

Shop for 2023 Panini Zenith Football boxes on eBay

2023/24 Panini Origins Basketball (03/22)

As always, the focus for 2023-24 Origins basketball is storytelling, and it’s a really great product for doing exactly that. Many of the sets are built around the idea of telling origins stories, and this product is spiced up by fun narrative threads being woven into the sets.

That said, at around $400, this box is a high-risk, high-reward rip and not a great long-term hold since it hasn’t proven to hold much value. Of the 7 cards per box, you’ll pull 1 rookie autograph, 1 other hit, 2 parallels, 1 insert and 2 base.

In other words, your rookie autograph needs to be a big one if you want any chance of stiffing a positive ROI, and without Wemby autograph potential, that’s a bit of a long shot. 

Shop for 2023-24 Panini Origins Basketball boxes on eBay

2023/24 Panini Donruss Soccer (03/27)

Donruss Soccer has become a surprising home run. Or, maybe, a surprising “goooaaaaal.” At $400/box, this is a big-name soccer brand with good potential.

The 200-card set has 25 Rated Rookies this year, and each box has 1 autograph, 1 memorabilia, 60 parallels, 48 inserts or inserts parallels. This is a big box, too, with 12 packs of 30 cards.

It also has the fun, bright selection of parallels that makes Donruss popular for its NFL and NBA offerings, including Kaboom!, Crunch Time, Net Marvels, Night Moves, Craftsmen, Pitch Kings and more.

Shop for boxes of 2023/24 Panini Donruss Soccer boxes on eBay

2023 Panini Obsidian Football (03/27)

Obsidian is back with a $500 box that contains 1 pack of 7 cards for football. In addition, you’ll get 4 autographs or memorabilia cards, 2 parallels, and 1 base of these cards. Obsidian does make great-looking cards.

They are electrically etched (not sure what that means, but it looks cool) on opti-chrome cardstock, incorporating a lot of black and color contrast. Autographs include Matrix Material Autos, Lightning Strike, and Aurora Autos.

What are you looking forward to ripping or holding? 

There are some big releases dropping in March and we’ve got our eye on several. Let us know what you’re most excited about on Twitter @card_lines, and subscribe to our free newsletter right here. Twice a week, we’re bringing exclusive hobby news, offers and tips straight to your inbox.

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